Tuesday, February 23, 2010

Glove Phobia?

Bryce has a really weird phobia – he is scared to death of gloves! The first time I realized this was a few months ago when Manuel was home cleaning the shower. He put latex gloves on and Bryce FREAKED OUT! He cried so hard that he vomited. (Enough with the vomit already!)
Since then, he also cried like crazy when his cousin Abby donned a pair of lavender princess gloves on our Disney vacation earlier this month. What is up with that?
And last Sunday, we went to a church luncheon and the caterers were wearing ... dun-dun-dun ... latex gloves! Poor Bryce cried so much he almost hyper-ventilated. I had to take him far away from the buffet line and explain that the gloves went bye-bye. Even then it took him awhile to calm down. Latex gloves seem to have the worst affect on him, but gloves in general are not his friend. I don't get it.

Brett, my little night owl

Last night was another difficult night. Little Brett is sick AND teething. Enough said.
But even in my zombie-like sleepless state, I found him quite endearing last night – after I got him out of his crib at 11 p.m. to calm down the crying, and after he threw up on me. (I know ... gross.) He wouldn't go back in his bed without tears, so I sat with him in the living room in the dark. He babbled as if it was the middle of the day. We were still sitting there when Manuel came home from work at midnight. I decided to just let him play until he got sleepy. He was so sweet playing and babbling on the floor in the middle of the night. I just watched him play through tired eyes and thought, "This too shall pass."
But hopefully it won't pass too soon.

Tuesday, February 16, 2010

m&m's for dinner


The other night, like so many nights, I offered my children reasonably healthy options for dinner – ham and mashed potatoes for Bryce, baby food for Brett. And like so many nights, it went uneaten. (Bryce has isssues with food, and Brett, at 8 months, has decided to spit out everything that goes in his mouth.) I used to stress over uneaten food, but I've learned to just go on and try again later.
Not long after their so-called dinner, Bryce asked for some m&m's. I gave in to his request for "junk food," and little Brett decided he wanted to try them too. Soon we were all seated at the kitchen table, chowing down on m&m's. I felt guilty letting them eat candy for dinner – but only for a moment. Then I just enjoyed it. Sometimes you just need to have m&m's for dinner!

Sunday, February 14, 2010

My sly (but sweet) husband


Manuel isn't big on holidays and gift-giving. So what he did yesterday came as a surprise. I told him I would order pupusas for dinner for his Valentine's gift from the Salvadoran restaurant. When he came home from work, I went to pick them up with Bryce and left the baby at home with Manuel. Before I left, he told me he didn't get me anything. I didn't expect him to (well, to be honest, I hoped he would!), and I said that's ok, no biggie.
When Bryce and I came home, pupusas in hand, all the lights in the house were off. I thought it was strange but figured he was trying to get Brett to go to sleep. When we walked in the door, he jumped out to greet us. There was a beautiful bouquet of red roses sitting on the kitchen table with a sweet little card that made me cry!
It made me realize when gifts are unexpected, they're even better!
P.S. The homemade valentine card is from Bryce. He made it in Sunday School! Sweet.

Friday, February 12, 2010

To blog or not to blog ...

The publisher I write for has told me to be a successful writer, I must blog.
I am a mom with 2-year-old and 8-month-old boys who also works from home and tries to keep a clean house while keeping up with laundry and dishes and cooking decent meals for a husband who works two full-time jobs. How can I find the time to blog!?
But alas, the ever-changing world of technology demands that from me. And so today, I begin my blogging career. I hope to post twice a week, in between changing diapers, mixing infant formula, picking up toys, grocery shopping, clipping coupons, interviewing sources, meeting story deadlines, meeting toddler demands, wiping tears, reading books (for the fourth time? Are you kidding?), picking up toys again, taking Bryce to Mother's Day Out (which translates to "Mother's Day to Work at Home"), picking up Bryce from Mother's Day Out, ravaging the pantry shelves to concoct something semi-homemade for dinner, and ... well, you get the idea. Happy Blogging!